Orban: Kurdistan’s success in Hungary’s interest

Budapest, May 11 (MTI) – Kurdistan has good chances to become a modern, efficient and successful region and Hungary could develop close cooperation with it, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday.

After meeting Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani in parliament, Orban said at a joint press conference that the region’s stability is very important not only to locals but also to the West and Europe as a whole. This explains Hungary’s contribution to the fight against Islamic State.

Orban said Hungary’s parliament decided less than a month ago to send soldiers to the region and preparations are under way for the mission, with several Hungarian officers already in Kurdistan.

Hungary considers the mission “an important part of its western identity”, he added.

In order to be able to handle the increasing pressure of immigrants, stability should be created in the Middle East and North Africa, Orban said. Islamic State “represents comprehensive threat and a factor of destabilisation”, so Europe should support all efforts for peace that aim at eliminating terrorist organisations, he added.

Commenting on Hungarian-Kurdish relations, Orban said Hungarian oil and gas company Mol has not withdrawn from Iraq even in the most difficult and riskiest period and became a flagship company for cooperation. He added that thirty students from Kurdistan are in Hungary with scholarships.

Barzani said he highly appreciated that Hungary’s parliament consented to a Hungarian contingent starting operations in Kurdistan.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters